1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering control apparatus for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a steering control apparatus for a vehicle which controls a steering operation so that the vehicle moves within a lane by recognizing the lane by a forward image of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to safely move a vehicle, a vehicle steering control apparatus has been suggested which controls a steering operation by recognizing a guide line such as a white line provided on a road surface so that the vehicle moves along the guide line without turning aside from the guide line.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-297939 discloses a steering control apparatus which detects a position of the vehicle with respect to guide lines on both sides of a lane on which the vehicle is moving. This steering control apparatus sets a target position along one of the guide lines when a deviation of the position of the vehicle relative to that guide line is detected so as to control a steering operation of the vehicle so that the vehicle traces the target position or target line.
In this steering control apparatus, a steering control is performed by setting the target position to a position along a guide line from which the vehicle turns aside. Accordingly, when a driver of the vehicle turns a steering wheel so as to move the vehicle to an arbitrary position within a lane on which the vehicle is moving, the steering control apparatus controls the vehicle to trace the above-mentioned target position. Thus, there is a problem in that the steering operation of the driver interferes with the steering operation of the steering control apparatus.